Unfurling
by The New Vampire
Summary: Because before something can bloom, it must unfurl. But while it does so, it's so very fragile. Reaching out, it's so easy to break a single tendril and kill the beautiful thing about to burst forth. Too easy. Ten/Rose, T for safety.
1. Prologue

Prologue

"But why do they hurt? And you, Doctor..." There is a sudden softness in her voice, hint of a smile on her face even as tears of pain stream from her eyes. She gasps, mouth twisting into a rabid grimace. "No! I will not allow it!" She smiles at him, a smile that hints at knowledge, power, a dangerous being under the surface happiness. "For you, Doctor, I will change time. Consider it...a gift from the universe." And with that, though few notice, fates are sealed, and time takes a new course.  
She's smarter, that's the first thing she notices. The Doctor is spouting his usual technobabble, something she's tried and failed repeatedly to understand. Then suddenly something...snaps. The words tumble out of her mouth before she thinks to stop them.  
"But that'd create a feedback loop, temporarily fry your brain, you wouldn't be able to get out! Couldn't you rig the sonic as a remote detonator?"  
He stares at her, wide eyed, before visibly snapping himself back,  
"Rose Tyler, you are a genius!"  
She can still see the confusion and worry in his eyes, but before long it's running and explosions and saving a world, and she pushes it to the back of her mind.  
Then there's the soothing hum of the TARDIS gradually becoming a song, a multi-layered song full of Time and Knowledge and the Universe, heartbreakingly beautiful, and so comforting. Soon she can no longer sleep without it, and eventually it follows her, fading back to a soothing hum with distance, but always there.  
The colors. She can see them, strands of color, twisting and turning, and it reminds her of something she can't quite remember. She looks down at her own hands and sees them, gold and vibrant, she looks at the Doctor and sees silver-blue, and around the two of them they are blurred, twisted and tangled, and moving.  
And everything seems so much brighter, she can taste and feel and see and smell, like cotton wool pulled away from her body.  
She hardly ever sleeps now, preferring to sneak away into the library and read.  
She hides it from the Doctor of course, not wanting to worry him. She's fine. Absolutely fine.  
It was all back to normal, running for their lives, saving worlds, being legends.  
Until Arelius. 


	2. Chapter 1

The Doctor looked up from where he had been fiddling with the console at the sound of footsteps on metal grating. Upon doing so, he was faced with a weapon of mass destruction so powerful, he had no chance. No sentient being could stand against it. The pout of one Rose Tyler.

"You have to take me shopping."

He scraped deep for resistance.

"Oh?"

"You said that if we couldn't make it through ten planets without running, hopping, or otherwise moving for our lives, you'd take me shopping. We made it through two, and one of those was uninhabited."

He sighed, already reaching for his sonic.

"Well, you see Rose, I would take you shopping, but I have to finish recalibrating the temporal alignment probes, otherwise we might accidently end up not when we wanted to be—"

"Oh, like normal then," she asked sweetly "Plus, that's what you said you were doing yesterday when I asked about going to visit Mum."

"Very sensitive job like this could take a while."

She grabbed his tie and pulled his face down to hers.

"We. Are. Going. Shopping. Unless you particularly want to see me with no clean clothes. And seeing as you won't take me home to do my laundry…."

He grimaced and reached for the controls, slowly as possible, fixing her with a pout of his own.

"I know where you keep your food, and I know where to get pears."

He meeped and scuttled to do what she demanded. As they stepped out into semi-blinding sun, he perked up again, as he always did at the prospect of showing her something new.

"Arelius was originally a colony of—believe it or not—the Raxicoricans. Now it's mostly human, and one of the most esteemed shopping worlds in the universe. It's…oooh, around 2..6. That's the year four billion, three thousand for you human calendar types."

He placed a hand on her back and led her into the center of town.

"Welcome to—"

He stopped short, his hand slowly slipping down to grab her hand.

"Rose, when I say, run," he whispered furiously "I may have gotten the time period slightly…off."

In front of them were a large group of Raxicoricans. With bows strung and at the ready. The one in front suddenly let out an almost-howl.

"RUN!"

All normal then, running hand in hand, full tilt towards the TARDIS. Suddenly Rose let out a scream, the high, keening sound of an animal in pain. The Doctor turned to see her pitching forward, white faced, with the fletching of an arrow sticking out of her back. No time to think, he gathered her up into his arms and sprinted the remaining few feet in the TARDIS, thanking Rassilon and every other god he could think of when it swung open in front of him.

Rose woke to an irregular beeping and the feel of a harder mattress than her own bed. She barely noticed these things however, because it was freezing. Why had the TARDIS made it so cold? Why was the Doctor letting her, for that matter? As if conjured by her thoughts, his troubled face swam into view.

"Rose? Rose!"

She tried to answer him, but it came out sounding like a half strangled moan. She wasn't surprised; her teeth were knocking together, so cold, so cold.

It was killing him to see her like this. Rose Tyler, the stuff of legends, brought down by a measly poisoned arrow on Arelius—no. She'd be fine. She had to be. Her own immune system would fight off the poison, she'd be fine.

He gently stroked her cheek, shuddering at how hot it was. She was burning up. The TARDIS sung a query at him, but he refused to answer. Golden tendrils curled around his mind, soothing and stroking, trying to reassure him. It didn't work.

The beeping stopped, becoming a steady drone. A shuddering breath past bruised lips.

"Time of death—" a broken sob "12:17 AM local time."


	3. Chapter 2

Unfurling Chapter 2

There was nothing. That was the odd thing. No bright light, no heavenly host, no lost loved ones, just…nothing. A void. She looked down at her chest, noticing that it wasn't moving. She focused on breathing, and it moved up and down. When she stopped concentrating on it, it didn't move. But she didn't feel like she was holding her breath, she felt normal, just…no breathing. She tried to move, but her body wouldn't respond. Her body? Was it hers? It didn't feel like hers. She struggled against the suddenly-visible bonds holding her down, yelling and screaming without making any noise.

The Doctor jumped upright from the chair where he had been slumped, too stunned by Rose's death to even leave the Medbay. She was screaming, loudly, audibly struggling against her "bonds". It was something no human should be able to do. When they died, they die. No in-between place, no struggle. For one of his people, there would be no trap, they would visit and regenerate, not lingering in the place before total death.

It had started to burn. Fire in her veins, aliens taking lighters to her flesh, twisted faces grinning as they burned her. Inside and out, it started building, acid and fire and everything hot and painful and it wouldn't stop. She couldn't stop the litany falling from her lips. "No, no, please, make it stop, make it stop, it burns, please, please!"

He was crying at this point, frozen, "listening" to the sounds of Rose in pain, crying out about the fire.

"DOCTOR!"

He jerked as she called for him one final time, then fell silent, he couldn't "hear" her screaming or struggling anymore. She had given up. He gasped and fell to his knees in front of the cot that still held her body, and he couldn't help it, pulling her body close, searching desperately for a heartbeat, breath, anything, but knowing he wouldn't find anything, calling out a stream of nonsense pleas without even realizing it, feeling himself breaking as he reached out to place his hands on her chest, where her heart would be.

And it was then that he knew that losing her had driven him insane.

A/N I'm a bit evil, I know. Maybe if you're good, I post the new chapter tonight…I do have it. But can I get some of the people who favorited to review? Even if it's just one word? (Yeah, I'm a soft touch, I'll probably put it up tonight anyway. But stil….)


	4. Chapter 3 and Teaser

Unfurling Chapter 3 and TEASER OF DOOM

A fluttering hearbeat. Well, technically, fluttering heartbeat_s_. He spread his hands, one going to each side of her chest. Two distinct thrums against his palms. He pulled back, startled, looking at her. She was still asleep, but the beating of her heart (hearts, he reminded himself), had steadied and strengthened. She had changed. Taller, blankets that had been wrapped around her neck were now coming to just over her chest. And she was _ginger_, as unfair as that was, and her hair was longer, even spread out on the pillow as it was. She was paler, but not unnaturally so, and there was a mole on the base of her neck.

While he had been doing his inspection, his hands had been cupping her face, unbidden. She was _real_, either that or he was even more insane than he thought. Bad Wolf. A gift from the universe.

"Thank you."

The whisper fell from his lips, half whisper, half whimper. But something was off. His internal Time sense said it had been a good five minutes since she had changed. She should have woken up already.

"Rose? Rose, wake up."

A gentle stirring, a soft sigh fell from her lips.

"Doctor? Five more minutes, I don' wanna get up yet."

He shook her a little bit.

"C'mon Rose, we're gonna go see your Mum today."

That woke her up, as suddenly-grey eyes snapped open.

"We are? Thank you!"

He smiled weakly.

"Doctor? What's wrong?"

"I…"

He couldn't quite explain it to her, offering her a mirror instead.

Rose put a hand to her new face, not quite able to believe it real.

"What happened?"

"You…you…." He turned away from her, facing towards the wall of—the Medlab? How had she ended up there?

"You died, you died from a single poisoned arrow and I didn't protect you, and you were _dead_ Rose! I watched you die right in front of me!"

She remembered, oh god, she remembered, and, out of her control, a single whimper of remembered pain escaped from her lips.

In a flash, he was at her side, checking her pulse and throwing questions at her rapid-fire.

"'M fine! Really Doctor….wait, how am I alive? I—I remember dying"

He looked at her in awe, reflexively grabbing her hand.

"Rose, you, you regenerated. And I don't know how, or why, well, I kind of do, but I don't understand it, but it's absolutely a miracle, and it's real, it's not an illusion, I can feel you, where the rest of them were, I can feel you and hear you, and it's really you, you're alive!"

He noticed what he was doing and dropped her hand like it had burned him, only to have Rose grab it back again.

"Don't you dare Doctor! You might feel guilty, but there was nothing you honestly could have done, either I would have gotten better or I wouldn't have. And look at me," she said placing their intertwined hands on her cheek "I'm abseloutely fine. I'm real, and I'm here, and you didn't kill me, and honestly, right now it would hurt me more if you were to start backing away from me, because you are the only person in the universe who has ever had to go through this! So don't even think about 'giving me my space', or whatever your stupid, giant brain is coming up with, or I will personally slap you harder than my mum ever did!" She looked him up and down, unable to resist adding one more quip. "Though honestly, you might like that."

At his dumbfounded look and stuttered promise not to try to hide from her, Rose was satisfied.

She stretched and looked down at herself. She was wearing the "hospital gown" the Doctor had put her in to treat her, and while it was better than those in the 21st century, it still wasn't something she wanted to be wearing for much longer. So with a clean bill of health (given with much reluctance) from the Doctor, Rose headed to her bedroom to get changed, proud of herself for only stumbling the first few feet.

The first thing she noticed was the _pink_. While she had loved it before, now it seemed rather…exuberant. Noticing her qualms, the TARDIS slowly changed the color of the walls until they were a less vibrant shade of pink, more coral than the hot pink of before. Nodding her satisfaction, Rose opened the closet on the far side of the room. She picked up her favorite tee, but it didn't seem right at all. None of her hoodies, shirts, and jeans seemed like the right thing, even after the TARDIS resized them to fit her new body. With a hum that sung of idea/satisfaction, the TARDIS pushed towards her a long sleeved, v-neck, purple dress. Without really knowing how, Rose knew this was what she had been looking for. With a bit more searching, she found black tights, a black peacoat, and, best of all, blue converse high-tops. Feeling more herself than she had since this whole ordeal began, she walked out to the console room to join the Doctor. No sense putting off explaining this to her mum, after all.

Next time:

Jackie stood in the courtyard where the TARDIS had materialized, dyed-blonde hair whipping around her in the breeze as she stared at her daughter.

"I knew you wouldn't be human one day, but not like this! No matter what you say, there needs to be one thing made clear. You are not my Rose!"


	5. Chapter 4

Unfurling Chapter 4

No sooner had Rose gotten dressed and made it to the control room than the TARDIS materialized in the courtyard of the Palace Estates, London, England. Reflexively, Rose grabbed for the Doctor's hand as they pushed through the blue/gold/coral doors.

Jackie Tyler ran to meet the materializing TARDIS, straining to catch a glimpse of Rose as the sun hovered behind the TARDIS, making it hard to see through the glare. The Doctor came out, hand-in-hand with a tall redhead. She waited, but Rose did not follow the pair out.

"Doctor? Where's Rose! Is she alright!"

She watched as the Doctor and the redhead exchanged a worried glance.

"I swear to god Doctor, tell me right now what happened to my daughter, and how long it took you to replace her—not very long at all, it seems to me!"

Rose stepped towards her mum, holding out her hand, towing the Doctor behind her.

"Mum, it's me, it's Rose, I'm right here, I'm fine!"

"Rose? Rose? What's 'e done to you!"

She spun to the Doctor, exuding motherly anger.

"What've you done to her!"

He gulped and stepped back in the face of the protective rage of one Jackie Tyler.

"Mum! It's not his fault, I've…you remember when the Doctor regenerated, yeah? Well, it happened to me, but…just like him, I'm still me, I'm still Rose!"

Jackie backed away, shaking her head in horror. Standing in the courtyard where the TARDIS had materialized, dyed-blonde hair whipping around her in the breeze as she stared at her daughter.

"I knew you wouldn't be human one day, but not like this! No matter what you say, there needs to be one thing made clear. You are not my Rose!"

The words hit her like a slap, one of those famous Tyler slaps so many people had told her hurt worse than being run over by a truck.

"Mum?"

The word caught in her throat, she could feel tears burning in her eyes, and she was barely aware of the Doctor gently disentangling his hand from hers and stepping in front of her to fix Jackie with a glare.

"How dare you? She's had a second chance at life, and you reject her because she looks different! No matter what you do, she's still your daughter, still your flesh and blood!"

He was interrupted by the sound of the TARDIS doors slamming shut. Fixing her with one more incredulous, contemptuous glance he ran after Rose, leaving a stunned Jackie Tyler with her hand over her own mouth, eyes wide.

It took her a few minutes, but eventually she pulled herself together enough to knock on the TARDIS door.

"Let me in, Rose! Come Rose, I need to talk to you! Rose!"

Eventually her voice went hoarse, and the sun started setting, but she didn't go inside, keeping up her vigil, watching over the small blue box.


	6. Chapter 5

Unfurling Chapter 5

"I can't believe she'd do that, I thought…I thought…I don't know what I thought, but it wasn't that," Rose sobbed, curled in a ball on the grating of the control room. "I haven't changed, I haven't."

Waves of nausea began to overtake her, and she groaned and forced herself to stand and walk to her bathroom, which the TARDIS had helpfully moved closer. Curling up once again, this time on cool tile, she didn't resist, turning over and vomiting into the toilet, dry heaving and sobbing, she didn't hear the Doctor come in behind her, not noticing him until she felt cool (not cold, as they once seemed) hands gently pull her hair back, away from her face, cradling her until the heaving passed.

"Why would she do that?"

Her face was tear-streaked, her voice shaky, her gaze on the floor.

"I don't know. She was scared, Rose, but that's no excuse."

Gentle fingers under her chin tilted her head up to look at him. She was still shivering, though the nausea had passed.

"She's outside, right now, begging to talk to you."

"I know." The TARDIS had told her, in her own way, somehow the Song forming ideas. "I just….I need time. Can we—can we just leave for a little bit? Come back right at this instant?" She buries her head in his shoulder, leaving wet patches from tears, but neither of them notice, or if they do, neither cares. "God, I never thought I'd be the one saying that," she says, voice muffled. A hand goes around her waist, pulling her closer until he's cradling her against him, telling her everything will be all right, of course they can take time, everything will be fine. A part of him wants to tell her he loves her, but he holds back. Some things are better left unsaid, let her think that he loves her like a brother, like a best friend, it's best for now. A part of his mind is already at work, planning possible destinations, things to show her, ways to get a smile back on her face and a glint back in her eyes. And no running, at least for a little bit. Maybe he'll even put up with shopping, just this once.

Aw, who is he kidding?

He'll do it anytime she asks.

And maybe before she does.

Next time:

Shopping. Do I need to give more details? Plot? Maaaybe. Will this chapter be up tonight? Probably, I still have another hour and a half of random free time to go.

Assuming my dear Kay lets me post.


	7. Chapter 6

Unfurling Chapter 6

She woke in her own bed two hours later, blankets tucked around her, a steaming cup of tea and a note on her bedside table.

"When you feel up to it, join me in the console room. I do believe I owe you a shopping trip."

She smiled halfheartedly, not quite able to conjure her usual enthusiasm for making the Doctor carrying her purchases.  
Rose stretched like a cat and got dressed, sipping the cup of tea all the while.

She wasn't smiling. All this, and she wasn't smiling. She was hurting even worse than he'd thought (well, not that he'd thought this would solve everything, but he expected a smile, at least).

As if hearing his thoughts, Rose turned to him from the newest perusal of the racks, lips stretching into what must have been meant as a smile but looked like a pained grimace. He slipped his hand into hers.

"You ready to go back to the TARDIS? Don't know about you, but I think there's a beach calling our names."

Another pained smile-attempt and a squeeze of his hand, and they wandered back to the TARDIS, both with their minds anywhere but the present.

"Rose, you can't beat yourself up over this. Because this wasn't your fault. And if there's one thing I know, it's that Jackie'll come 'round, alright? She loves you, she just doesn't want the little girl she raised to change.

"'S not my fault, I know that. But…she sounded so much like she meant it."

He fumbles with the key in his left hand, laughing softly when she plucks out her own and swiftly unlocks the TARDIS doors.

They barely release each others' hands for the rest of the day.

Jackie gasped, more of a moan, as the TARDIS dematerialized, eyes wide as she realized that her daughter was really leaving, that she had caused her to leave. She let out a near-howl of maternal pain at the realization of what she had done. After all, even if she looked different, Rose was still her Rose. And the Tyler women had to stick together.


	8. Chapter 7

A/N…for some reason this chapter is all float-y and describe-y, not my usual action-filled writing at all. Also, I'm thinking about making this yet another Alt seasons two and three...I know that might get boring, but I'm pretty sure I can find a way to just use episodes every few chapters, mostly TARDISodes and my own adventures. Thoughts?

Rose was curled up on a long duster, watching waves crash against an ocean dyed purple by a double-sunset. She looked up at the sound of soft footsteps on silky-soft green sand. The Doctor settled in behind her, holding out a thermos of steaming hot tea, which she took gratefully, pressing the rim to her lips.

"'S beautiful. Really. All the purple against the green."

"The sand is actually ground-down emeralds. When interstellar travelers get here, they gradually take the emeralds, replacing it with Earth sand. But you're right, it is beautiful."

She shivered and curled tighter against him. He always felt warm to her now that their body temperatures were so similar. A few degrees warmer than he should be, actually.

"Why're you so warm anyway?"

He stiffened against her, starting to stand up.

"No, no, 's fine, I'm just wondering."

He gently lay back down behind her on his coat, smiling softly as she again curled up against him, only to have to stifle a giggle when he felt a faint vibration against his chest.

"Rose Tyler, are you purring?"

She rolled over to face him, eyes half-closed.

"Oi! I don't purr!"

"No, you just vibrate happily."

She smacked his arm half-heartedly, before sitting up straight, alert once more.

"You're trying to distract me!"

He grinned cheekily up at her.

"Is it working?"

"Why you…!"

"You know you love me."

She smiles.

"That, Doctor, I do."

And without realizing how something so simple froze him in place, she gets up, stretches luxuriously, and heads for the water, shedding her cover-up and trainers as she goes.

She's smiling again. That's something, one part of his mind insists. A small part. The rest of him is frantically trying to convince himself out of the shock that her completely _platonic_ declaration put him in. His tongue goes out to moisten slack lips as she reaches beside him for the thermos of tea he brought out. He sips from it, keeping one (or both) eye(s) on Rose the whole time. Because she's a trouble magnet. Not because she looks so graceful and beautiful in the water, or because he wants to make sure that this is her, that she really loves him. Because she attracts danger like nothing else.

Rose scrambles up to hide her brush, stretching in what she hopes is a nonchalant fashion, before going to the water and diving in, letting the cool ocean soothe away the heat of her blush. The words had tumbled out before she could stop them, her mental filters soothed away by a lazy afternoon on the beach. As they had left her mouth, when she had realized it was too late to stop them, she had a brief moment of hope, for an "I love you too", even if it was playful. But the way he had frozen and looked away had told her everything she needed to know. A pitiful declaration from a stupid ape who didn't even know the meaning of the word "love". She could feel another blush rising, so she dove under again into the blue-purple water.

Four hearts pounding in time, two minds, thinking of love, and two suns setting in a darkening sky. A beautiful evening, above all.


	9. Chapter 8

Unfurling Chapter 8

The Doctor walked into the TARDIS kitchen, well, more like a kitchenette usually. She did, however, enjoy changing things up based on where they had last visited. On a visit to 1960s Earth, they ended up with a giant coke sign and vinyl, lots of vinyl. A trip to the year 3535 and the Martian colony had resulted in hovering….everything. Lots of fun trying to cook when the stove keeps trying to bounce up and down, or so Rose had informed him. He didn't cook, after all. He shuddered to think of what their most recent trip had done—Paris. The last time he had gone to the City of Love, the entire place had been turned pink—lots of chocolate, bread, pillows, candy, sweet little notes, the whole nine yards.

Turning the last corner, however, he saw Rose, red hair pulled up in a simple ponytail, sipping tea in what looked like a perfectly normal kitchen. What had Rose done to convince the TARDIS out of her usual redecorating?

As if she could hear his thoughts, Rose turned, smiling.

"I jus' told her we didn't need all the redecoration-y stuff, 'cause we're going to be in London, 2007 soon, and I didn't want her to waste her energy redecorating twice.

His right heart stopped, his left speeding up to compensate.

"You sure? We can take as much time as you need."  
She nods, posture confident.

"'M sure. I need to talk to her. One way or the other, the worst she can do is throw me out, yeah?"

She manages a brave smile, but the Doctor notices the extra glimmer in her eyes.

"Hey now. She won't do anything of the sort. You want to know the reason I fear that woman more than any creature in the cosmos?"

She looks up at him from her perch on one of the chairs and nods. He goes and pulls a chair over next to her, gently putting an arm around her.

"Because she loves you, and because she loves you she is fiercely protective, to the point where any perceived threat will be faced with her death glare. And she won't stop that, she won't stop loving you, just because you look different."

She leant into him.

"How d'you know? Even I can see that there's different outcomes. She could reject me, hate me, run from me."

"The timelines don't show everything. There's one where you change your mind and we never go back, there's one where you and I go and Jackie admits she loves you and for some reason I agree to tea, there's one where we go and Jackie admits she loves you and travels with us for a while," There's one where I lean in and kiss you, he adds silently. And right now that one is pulsing blue and gold as he considers it—"but trust me Rose, the ones in which she has gotten over it far outnumber the ones in which she don't.

He stands and presses a kiss to her forehead, going to set the coordinates.


	10. Chapter 9

Unfurling Chapter 9

Jackie looks up at them, relief on her face and launches herself at Rose, hugging her as hard as she can.

"Oh swee'hear', I'm so sorry. Of course I love you, no matter what you look like, no matter what!"

Rose relaxed into her mum's embrace, tears streaming down her face again, but this time tears of happiness and relief. She doesn't know how long they stand like that, her mother hugging her and the Doctor in the background (well, yes, she does, 23 minutes and 12 seconds, it's like having a bloody kitchen timer in her head), but when she finally pulls away there is a smile on her face again, the first real smile since Jackie first saw her like this.

Jackie held her at an arms length, studying her critically.

"Hasn't that big alien lump been feeding you? You're wasting away, practically skin and bones! And those circles under your eyes, really, that man needs to stop dragging you to all manner of places in the middle of the night!"

Rose grins again, only a hint of tears still in her eyes, and reaches her hand out to the Doctor's.

""M fine Mum! Don't need much sleep anymore, and I've been eating."

"Well not enough, obviously. Come on, we'll do proper Sheppard's pie tonight, I can ring Mickey, it'll be nice. And you," she whirls on the Doctor, not fooled one bit by his "who, me?" face "Are going to eat. Lord only knows how you take care of yourself if this is your idea of taking care of my daughter."

To Rose's surprise, he doesn't argue, no quips about domestics, no pleading puppy dog eyes.  
"Actually, Sheppard's pie sounds good to me. One of the few things the TARDIS can't quite do properly, potatoes."

Which is a lie, of course, the TARDIS does wonderful potatoes as long as they have potatoes on board (no magic food creating).

They sit down on the couch while Jackie goes to start dinner and make tea, which is when the Doctor starts looking distinctly…pale.

_This is so not fun._

"You alrigh'?"

"Fine Rose. Just—hang on, did I say that out loud?"

"Say what?"

_Rose, can you hear this?_

"Course I can, 'm not deaf."

It's then that the Doctor remembers something about his people. After they regenerate for the first time, their telepathy increases, is no longer touch-driven, though touching helps. Without training, they hear everything, though they can't broadcast.

_Bloody hell._

_Language!_

_You can talk too?_

_Are you sick or something?_

_Rose, am I moving my mouth when I say this? Are you moving yours?_

_Well of cou—no…what!_

"You two alright?"

Jackie walks in bearing three mugs of steaming hot tea, jerking them out of their "discussion".

"Fine."

"Yep, absolutely fine and dandy! Okay, never saying that again."

_Rose Marion Tyler, you have an awful lot of explaining to do when we get back to the TARDIS. _

She meets his eyes and blushes, though her mental voice stays completely unflustered.

_As do you, Doctor. _


	11. Chapter 10

Unfurling Chapter 10

In the end, the explanation is simpler than she ever would have thought. She's biologically Gallifreyan, Gallifreyans are telepathic, therefore she is telepathic. Except it's not.

"So in order for me to not read your mind, I have to have training, 'cept I shouldn't be able to let you read my thoughts because I don't have training, so I must have had training, but I haven't?"

"Something like that, yes."

It's a mystery that's left unexplained, but eventually it's agreed that he'll train her. Sometime.

Turns out, maybe they should have been in a little bit more of a hurry.

She's in a bad mood when she gets to the console room the next morning—well, evening really, but she just woke up. She slept and dreamed—one of those dreams where you can't decide if it's good or bad, cause it feels so good, but it hurts to wake up.

_I love you._

The Doctor looks up and starts, the slight brush against his mind replaying again and again.

_I love you too._

It's Rose's turn to start and stare at the Doctor as he races around the console, pulling levers and pushing buttons to get them underway to their next destination—he's promised her a nice dinner tonight, not that she knows it'll be in Cardiff, they need to refuel, but he's made reservations at a very nice restaurant. She's hallucinating though, she has to be. Because no amount of psychic powers will show her the untrue. Wishful thinking is all.

"We're here Rose. Time to go play dress up. You should find something fitting in the Wardrobe Room."

She jumps off the Captain's chair and runs up the corridor—apparently not even regeneration can change her adoration for fancy dress, not in his Rose. Little wisps of thought reach him from the wardrobe room as he leans across the console. She's found a little—really little black dress from the fifty-fourth century, and he sends her a growl of warning, taking only a little delight in her small jump and guilty expression. She finally (half an hour indeed!) comes out in a green velvet—so dark it's almost black number that sparkles with sewn-in gems and hits mid-thigh. Her red hair is curled into tight springs so it just brushes her shoulders, setting off the green of her dress and the gentle tan of her skin wonderfully.

_Beautiful_

This time his mind curls against hers enough that she knows it's him, and she gives him a smile, pushing her hair behind her ear.

"Thank you. But don't you mean 'for a human'?"

"Nope. For anything. Besides, you aren't human anymore. And you are Goddess-like compared to the Time Lords, trust me."

She smiles again, trying to put her tongue through her teeth, but it doesn't feel right anymore, so she settles for looking up at him through her eyelashes as she grins.

"One last thing before we go Rose. We'll need to work on training you properly when we get back, but it's not safe to have you broadcasting openly when we leave the TARDIS. I'm going to go in and put up barriers for you. Anything you don't want me to see, put a door over, yada yada yada. Alright?"

At her nod, he gently places fingers to her temples and cheekbones, reaching into her mind.

He nearly falls over.

The rush of trust and love and need that washes over him is unbelievable, and with it comes his name, leaving him no doubt of who it is meant for. He puts up her barriers mechanically, mind whirling. Rose, his Rose feels that way about him, the same way he feels about her, and now she will live as long as he, if not longer, and she feels the same way towards him, and—and Cardiff simply will not do. He's going to tell her how he feels or..uh. Nevermind. But he will tell her how he feels, and for that she deserves dinner and wine and dancing and…hmmm.

"Right, change of plans! I just thought of an even better place to take you for dinner. How would you, Rose Tyler, like to literally dance among the stars?"

The look of awe on her face is all it takes to finalize his decision.

"Molto bene! New LA Station, here we come!"


	12. Chapter 11

Unfurling Chapter 11

He sends her to change into a more formal gown, setting coordinates for New LA Station, a space station orbiting New Earth, home to quite the entertainment industry—and also the centre of the Sky-Dancing ™ phenomena. A force field forms a room in the middle of space. You can't see it though, so it's like dancing on nothing, just whirling amongst the stars…romantic, beautiful, new and exciting, the perfect place to tell Rose how he feels. But how to do it…?

He runs through scenarios in his head, each dismissed quicker than the last while he mechanically changes into the Tuxedo of Doom. Reaching for a bow tie, he gets an overwhelming urge of _silver_, from the TARDIS, and picks the silvery-gray silk one instead of his normal black, choosing a gray shirt as well. He wanders back to the console room on autopilot, cursing inwardly in the many languages he knows, and some he knows just for this purpose. Why is this so hard?

He's distracted from his musings by her entrance, and if the last dress took his breath away, this one stops one of his hearts, the other speeding up to compensate. It looks simple at first glance, just an ankle length black dress, tight in the bodice and flaring at the waist, but the matching pearls she wears around her neck create a subtle projection field of sparkling silver. She looks glorious. She smiles at him, and he offers her his arm with a responding smile.

They walk out the door and into the "lobby", where the force field has a blue tinge. The disorienting, wonderful feeling of being alone in space with nothing holding you in comes later.

They walk up to the host, a multitentacled, mutlieyed alien with a distinct orange hue to his skin, wearing a tuxedo, and with a wave of the psychic paper, the Doctor establishes them as Mr. and Mrs. Tyler-Smith, ambassadors from Keratchia. With the application of some hefty funds, they are registered and go through to the ballroom. Rose looks down at her feet and gasps.

"'S like…'s like there's literally nothing their."

"We're dancing among stars. But they all are shining extra bright, they have to in order to compete with you."

She gives him a smile, looking up through her eyelashes in a way that he has figured out replaces her tongue between her teeth.

"Flattery will get you everywhere."

"Idle flattery will get me nowhere."

"Then why are you practicing on me?"

"Idle, this is not!"

Before she can respond, he pulls her to the dance floor by their joined hands, placing his arms around her, holding her close—as close as they usually dance, not as close as he wants to be to her. She's wearing heels; tonight she's nearly as tall as him. They dance, fancy at first, whirling in and out of the other dancers, showing off. But somehow, they end up swaying, pressed close to each other, his arms at her waist and hers around his neck. She lays her head on his shoulder, nuzzling unconsciously into his neck, and he swallows, hard, resting his head briefly on top of hers.

"I love you."

He barely breathes it, but she hears it, he knows she does, because her entire body stiffens against him. She looks at him, and there are tears sparkling in her eyes, he can see them even through the projection. When she speaks, though, her voice is remarkably steady.

"I love you too. Best mates, yeah?"

He sighs. Was he wrong? Was he just imagining things? But…there was no imagining the psychic wave that had hit him. His mouth opens without permission from his head, not that it's an unusual occurrence, but he curses it now all the same.

"No—yes, but that's not what I mean. I mean…"

There are no words for what he means, or if they are, not even his brain the size of a planet can pick them out right now. So he kisses her, right there in the middle of the dance floor. They don't stop swaying, even as they kiss, and when he gently pulls away, the look in her eyes is all the answer he needs.

"Excuse me, Sir, but we'd prefer if you and your—wife were to go elsewhere if you were going to engage in public affection." The orange alien in the suit is back, and from the look he's giving them, they won't be staying here much longer. He slips a hand into hers and smiles.

"I'm very sorry, we'll leave to avoid disturbing you further." The alien nods and lumbers off, taking a place near the door and leaving one of four eyes on them.

"Run," he tells her, and they do, all the way to the TARDIS, giggling the entire time. She's slightly ahead when they reach their destination, so she pulls out her key and lets them in, letting go of his hand in the process. She promptly kicks off her heels, relishing the feel of cool grating on her feet, and turns to him.

"What was that!"

He stares, unsure of how to respond. "What I should have done a while ago…what I should have said a while ago. Rose Tyler, I love you."

He opens his arms and she slowly steps into them, unsure.

"But, I don't—I…how?" She looks down, the earlier tears welling up again. "I'm just a stupid ape, remember? I—I'm not"

He pulls her closer, as if hugging her harder will take away her doubts.

"Rose, you are. You are everything you think you aren't and more. You are beautiful and strong and compassionate and open-minded. You are everything I would wish for and everything I don't deserve."

This time it is her who goes up on her toes and kisses him. Neither have had all their doubts assuaged, not by a long shot, but for some reason, they can't care. They stand there, surrounded by sweeping coral columns, and in the background, the TARDIS hums in contentment. Her Doctor and her Rose are happy, and that is simply right.

The Doctor and Rose are thrown apart when a shuddering boom wracks the TARDIS and all the lights go dim. They both 'hear' a sound that rips at their hearts. The death-cry of a TARDIS.


	13. Chapter 12

Unfurling Chapter 12

A/N So I'm going to be trying to stick to a specific update schedule now that things are settling down—Breaking Devon Brannel on Tuesdays, Unfurling on Thursdays, and Alexis on Saturdays. Feel free to bug the hell out of me if I miss a date! And in case anyone is wondering what Alexis is going to be, it is in fact a Doctor Who story; so check it out come Saturday! And now, on with the story.

It _hurts_, almost as much as what Rose remembers of regenerating, but mental instead of physical, all the anguish and loss and the pure energy pouring out of a dying TARDIS as she mourns the death of her bonded, and Rose can hear her in a way that she's yet to manage, the TARDIS screaming in every language she can possibly comprehend and some she can't and it feels as though her heart is being shredded with dull knives—

Rose has never been so glad to lose consciousness in her life.

When she wakes, she screams until the breath catches in her throat in a frantic sob. A cool cloth is pressed to her forehead and she jerks in surprise. Her voice is rough when she asks in surprise, "Doctor?"

He gives her a soft smile.

"I'm fine, love. And so's the TARDIS. "

"But she…"

Rose can't even say it, the words sticking in her throat as if speaking them aloud would shatter the illusion that everything was alright.

"She didn't. And I promise you, we'll keep her safe so that she never will alright? I'm not going to leave either of my girls."

The cheeky way he refers to them means Rose can't help but give a watery smile, pushing herself to a sitting position. The Doctor put her in her own bed, rather than in the infirmary, which is a nice change from the last time she woke up from something other than sleep.

"What happened?"

The Doctor sits down on the corner of her bed, jostling her a little.

"I'm not actually sure. But hey, lying around in bed isn't going to help us find out!"

He bounces back up again and holds a hand out to her, not-so-subtly acting as support while she slowly stands up, testing her balance. When her head doesn't spin and she feels totally fine, she gives him a small smile. It's a bit odd, considering that usually when she passes out she can't stand on her own for a few hours without waking up—

"It's because all the trauma was in your mind. When I repaired your shields while you were out, your body was no longer interpreting the signals from your mind as damage, so it's as if nothing happened to you physically."

"Please tell me you didn't see anything too bad in there!"

The Doctor smirks and winks, pulling her towards the console room.

She's just settled into her normal spot on the worn, padded chair when the Doctor gestures at her to stand up again.

"C'mere, Rose. How would you like to learn to fly the TARDIS?"

It should be a happy moment, something they share, celebration of the fact that she's now smart enough to help him, and that he wants to teach her. It should be. But the slight undertone of fear or desperation or worry means she stays silent as she walks up behind him to watch him work the controls.


End file.
